Disposable shoe cover for athletic use

ABSTRACT

A disposable shoe cover for athletic use includes a unitary flexible material sheet folded into a shoe shape. The shoe shape defines a sole, an upper and a closed-loop shoe-receiving opening in the upper adapted to receive a wearer&#39;s shoe. Surface gripping members are provided on the sole.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims benefit of the filing date of U.S. ProvisionalApplication Nos. 60/842,473 filed on Sep. 5, 2006 and 60/874,360 filedon Dec. 12, 2006. The contents of both said applications areincorporated herein by this reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

This invention relates to footwear for golfing and other sports whereinspecialized sole configurations are required for gripping a playingsurface.

2. Description of the Prior Art

By way of background, certain sports such as golf require shoes equippedwith spikes or other gripping configurations on the soles thereof. Suchfootwear is not generally worn for normal use and may even be bannedfrom certain indoor (or outdoor) areas in order to protect susceptiblesurfaces from scratching, marring or other damage. This isdisadvantageous for athletes who do not desire to change their shoesprior to or following play, or who may be traveling and do not wish topack an extra set of shoes. Accordingly, what is needed is analternative footwear solution that overcomes the foregoing limitationsand to enhances the current technology.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The foregoing problems are solved and an advance in the art is obtainedby a disposable shoe cover for athletic use. The disposable shoe coverincludes a unitary flexible material sheet folded into a shoe shape. Theshoe shape defines a sole, an upper and a closed-loop shoe-receivingopening in the upper adapted to receive a wearer's shoe. Surfacegripping members are provided on the sole.

According to exemplary embodiments disclosed herein, the flexiblematerial sheet may be maintained in the shoe shape by a front seamextending along a mid-portion of the upper from the shoe-receivingopening toward a forward end of the sole, and by a rear seam extendingalong a mid-portion of the upper from a rearward portion of theshoe-receiving opening toward a rearward end of the sole. The front seamand the rear seam may each extend inwardly into an interior of thedisposable shoe cover to improve the aesthetic appearance thereof. Theflexible material sheet may be selected from the group consisting offabric material and plastic sheet material, and may be water resistant.The foot-receiving opening may comprise an elastic band so that it maybe expanded to receive a wearer's shoe. The gripping members comprisespikes and may be permanently or detachably mounted to the sole. In oneconfiguration, the gripping members may be disposed on a forward portionof the sole and the disposable shoe cover may further comprise a heelmember on a rearward portion of the sole. In another configuration, thegripping members may be disposed on forward and rearward portions of thesole. An optional insole may be provided having a textured upper surfacefor gripping a bottom of a wearer's shoe. One or more adjustableretention straps or retention bands may also be provided that areadapted to wrap around a forward portion of the upper to assist insecuring the disposable shoe cover to a wearer's shoe. Alternatively, anadjustable seam may be provided on the upper.

In another aspect, a method is provided for forming the above-summarizeddisposable shoe cover. According to this method, a unitary flexiblematerial sheet is selected and folded into a shoe shape. The shoe shapedefines a sole, an upper and a closed-loop shoe-receiving opening in theupper adapted to receive a wearer's shoe. Surface gripping members areprovided on the sole.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The foregoing and other features and advantages of the invention will beapparent from the following more particular description of exemplaryembodiments of the invention, as illustrated in the accompanyingDrawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an exemplary disposable shoe coverthat may be constructed in accordance with the disclosure herein;

FIG. 2 is a side elevation view of the disposable shoe cover of FIG. 1with a portion thereof broken away for clarity;

FIG. 3 is a rear view of the disposable shoe cover of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4A is a bottom view of the disposable shoe cover of FIG. 1 showinga first exemplary sole configuration;

FIG. 4B is a bottom view of the disposable shoe cover of FIG. 1 showinga second exemplary sole configuration;

FIG. 5 is a plan view showing a patterned material sheet that may beused to construct the disposable shoe cover of FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is a side elevation view of the patterned material sheet of FIG.5 following folding and sewing operations;

FIG. 7 is a perspective view the disposable shoe cover of FIG. 1 showingoptional retention straps;

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the disposable shoe cover of FIG. 1 witha portion thereof broken away for clarity to show optional retentionbands;

FIG. 9 is an exploded partial cross-sectional view showing an exemplaryspike assembly that may be removably attached to the disposable shoecover of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 10 is an exploded partial cross-sectional view showing anotherexemplary spike assembly that may be removably attached to thedisposable shoe cover of FIG. 1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS

Turning now to FIGS. 1-3, a disposable shoe cover 2 for athletic use isshown. The disposable shoe cover 2 includes a unitary flexible materialsheet 4 folded into a shoe shape 6. The shoe shape 6 defines a sole 8,an upper 10 and a closed-loop shoe-receiving opening 12 in the upperthat is adapted to receive a wearer's shoe 14. Surface gripping members16 are provided on the sole.

The flexible material sheet 4 may be maintained in the shoe shape 6 by afront seam 18 extending along a mid-portion of the upper 10, from theshoe-receiving opening 12 toward a forward end 20 of the sole 8. A rearseam 22 may also be used that extends along a mid-portion of the upper10 from a rearward portion of the shoe-receiving opening 12 toward arearward end 24 of the sole 8. The front seam 18 and the rear seam 22may each extend inwardly into an interior of the disposable shoe cover 2to improve the aesthetic appearance of thereof.

The flexible material sheet 4 may be selected from any suitable materialthat is sufficiently low in cost that the disposable shoe cover 2 may beeconomically disposed of following a single use. The material is alsopreferably highly flexible such that, for example, the disposable shoecover 2 can be easily folded or rolled up and placed in a wearer's golfbag. Exemplary materials include fabrics such as those used to makesurgical boots. Thin plastic sheet material, which has the advantage ofbeing waterproof, may also be used. Fabrics may also be water resistant,and if not, can be treated with a spray coating or the like so as tobecome water resistant or waterproof.

The shoe-receiving opening 12 may comprise an elastic band 26 formed bya pair of elastic band elements 26A and 26B. The elastic band 26 gathersthe opening 12 around the upper portion of the wearer's shoe 14 duringuse while allowing the opening to be expanded to receive the wearer'sshoe when the disposable shoe cover 2 is being put on and taken off.

The gripping members 16 may comprise spikes that are permanently ordetachably mounted to the sole. Any suitable type of attachment may beused, including mechanical fasteners, adhesive, and sewing. If sewing isused, conventional sewing threads may be employed. Alternatively,medical suturing material could be used. Exemplary spike constructionsare described in more detail below in connection with FIGS. 9 and 10.Gripping members other than spikes, such as textured surface elements,bumps or other means, may also be provided on the sole 8. The grippingmembers 16 may be arranged in any desired fashion on the sole 8. FIG. 4Aillustrates one exemplary arrangement wherein the gripping members 16are implemented as spikes and are disposed only on a forward portion ofthe sole 8. An optional heel member 28 may then be provided on arearward portion of the sole 8. FIG. 4B illustrates another exemplaryconfiguration wherein the gripping members 16 are implemented as spikesand are disposed on forward and rearward portions of the sole 8.

As shown in FIG. 2, an optional insole 30 may also be provided. Theinsole 30 may have a textured upper surface for gripping a bottom of thewearer's shoe 14.

Turning now to FIGS. 5 and 6, fabrication of the disposable shoe cover 2may begin by patterning the flexible material sheet 4 into an elongated,generally rectangular shape having a pair of long sides 32, a pair ofshort sides 34 and four rounded corner portions 36. The flexiblematerial sheet 4 is folded lengthwise along a longitudinal centerlineA-A that bisects the short sides 34. This produces the folded shapeshown in FIG. 6 in which there is a fold line 38 and wherein the longedges 32, the short edges 34 and the corner portions 36 aresubstantially aligned in mutual overlapping relationship with eachother.

The front seam 18 and the rear seam 22 may be formed by sewing, adhesivebonding, heat bonding, ultrasonic welding, etc., depending on thematerial used for the flexible material sheet 4. For sewing,conventional sewing or medical suturing material may be used. Anadjustable seam may also be formed (see below). The front seam 18 andthe rear seam 22 may both extend from the fold line 38 to the mutuallyaligned long edges 32 at locations that are spaced inwardly from theshort edges 34 so that there will not be any openings at the front andrear ends of the finished product. The angle of the front seam 18relative to the fold line 38 is preferably small to define thefoot/toe-receiving portion of the disposable shoe cover 2. This anglealso defines the location of the forward portion of the shoe-receivingopening 12. The angle of the rear seam 22 relative to the fold line 38is preferably large to define the heel-receiving portion of thedisposable shoe cover 2. This angle also defines the location of therearward portion of the shoe-receiving opening 12. Surface grippingmembers are provided on the sole.

The elastic band elements 26A and 26B can be stitched or otherwisemounted on respective ones of the long edges 32. This operation ispreferably performed with the elastic band elements 26A and 26B in afully stretched condition. In this way, the elastic band elements 26Aand 26B will contract after they are attached, causing the newly-definedshoe-receiving opening 12 to contract.

At this point, excess material that lies outside of the front seam 18and the rear seam 22 may be trimmed off. The assembly of FIG. 6 may thenbe turned inside out to produce the final shoe shape 6 of the finisheddisposable shoe cover 2.

In some cases, it may be desirable to provide additional means forsecuring the disposable shoe cover 2 to the wearer's shoe 14. As shownin FIG. 7, one or more adjustable retention straps 40 may be providedthat are adapted to wrap around a forward portion of the upper 10.Adjustable locking elements, such as hook and loop members 42, may beprovided at the end of each retention strap segment so that theretention straps 40 can be tightened around the wearer's shoe 14.Another alternative is shown in FIG. 8, in which one or more retentionbands 44 may be provided on the inside (or outside) of the forwardportion of the upper 10. The retention bands 44 are preferably elasticso that they exert a retention force on a forward portion of thewearer's shoe 14.

Another way to provide additional securing means would be to make theseam 18 (FIG. 6) adjustable. This could be done by providing lockingelements at the seam 18, such as hook and loop members, so that theedges that form the seam are adjustably overlapping for tightening andloosening.

Turning now to FIGS. 9 and 10, if the gripping members 16 areimplemented as spikes, they can be designed to removably mount to thesole 8 of the disposable shoe cover 2. This provides the advantage ofbeing able to change the type of spike being used, and/or to replacedamaged or worn spikes. In FIG. 9, the illustrated gripping member 16comprises a plastic spike assembly having an upper spike plate 46situated on an upper side of the sole 8. The upper spike plate 46 hasone or more downwardly extending spikes 48, preferably made of plastic,that extend through the sole 8. A retainer plate 50 is placed on thebottom side of the sole 8. The retainer plate 50 has apertures 51 thatare adapted to receive and lockingly engage the base of each spike 48,such that the tip of each spike protrudes downwardly beyond the retainerplate. In FIG. 10, the illustrated gripping member 16A comprises aplastic spike assembly having an upper retainer plate 52 situated on theupper side of the sole 8. The upper retainer plate 52 has one or moredownwardly extending snap lock prongs 54 that extend through the sole 8.A lower spike plate 56 is placed on the bottom side of the sole 8. Thelower spike plate 56 has receptacles 58 that are adapted to receive andlockingly engage the prongs 54. The lower spike plate 56 also mounts aspike 60, preferably made of metal, that extends downwardly from thespike plate.

When it is desired to use the disposable shoe cover 2, the wearerstretches the elastic band 26 surrounding the shoe-receiving opening 12and inserts his or her shoe 14 therein. The elastic band 26 is thenreleased to gather the shoe-receiving opening 12 around the upperportion of the wearer's shoe 14. If the retention straps 40 areprovided, they may be cinched down to snug the disposable shoe cover 2onto the wearer's shoe 14. If the retention bands 44 are provided, theymay be expanded during shoe insertion and will then snug down onto thewearer's shoe 14 due to their elastic properties. When the athleticactivity has concluded, the disposable shoe cover 2 can be easily takenoff and disposed of, or it may be saved for subsequent use.Advantageously, the design of the disposable shoe cover 2 allows it tobe easily folded or rolled into a compact configuration and stowed in asuitable location.

Accordingly, a disposable shoe cover for athletic use has beendisclosed. While various embodiments of the invention have been shownand described, it should be apparent that many variations andalternative embodiments could be implemented in accordance with theteachings herein. It is understood, therefore, that the invention is notto be in any way limited except in accordance with the spirit of theappended claims and their equivalents.

1. A disposable shoe cover for athletic use, comprising: a unitaryflexible material sheet folded into a shoe shape; said shoe shapedefining a sole, an upper and a closed-loop shoe-receiving opening insaid upper adapted to receive a wearer's shoe; and surface grippingmembers on said sole.
 2. A disposable shoe cover in accordance withclaim 1 wherein said flexible material sheet is maintained in said shoeshape by a front seam extending along a mid-portion of said upper fromsaid shoe-receiving opening toward a forward end of said sole.
 3. Adisposable shoe cover in accordance with claim 2 wherein said flexiblematerial sheet is further maintained in said shoe shape by a rear seamextending along a mid-portion of said upper from a rearward portion ofsaid shoe-receiving opening toward a rearward end of said sole.
 4. Adisposable shoe cover in accordance with claim 1 wherein said flexiblematerial sheet is selected from the group consisting of fabric materialand plastic sheet material.
 5. A disposable shoe cover in accordancewith claim 1 wherein said flexible material is water resistant.
 6. Adisposable shoe cover in accordance with claim 1 wherein saidshoe-receiving opening comprises an elastic band.
 7. A disposable shoecover in accordance with claim 3 wherein said front seam and said rearseam each extend inwardly into an interior of said disposable shoecover.
 8. A disposable shoe cover in accordance with claim 1 whereinsaid gripping members comprise spikes.
 9. A disposable shoe cover inaccordance with claim 1 wherein said gripping member are permanentlymounted to said sole.
 10. A disposable shoe cover in accordance withclaim 1 wherein said gripping members are detachably mounted to saidsole.
 11. A disposable shoe cover in accordance with claim 1 whereinsaid gripping members are only disposed on a forward portion of saidsole and said disposable shoe cover further comprises a heel member on arearward portion of said sole.
 12. A disposable shoe cover in accordancewith claim 1 wherein said gripping members are disposed on forward andrearward portions of said sole.
 13. A disposable shoe cover inaccordance with claim 1 further comprising an insole having a texturedupper surface for gripping a bottom of a wearer's shoe.
 14. A disposableshoe cover in accordance with claim 1 further comprising securing meansfor adjustably securing said disposable shoe cover to a wearer's shoe.15. A disposable shoe cover in accordance with claim 1 wherein saidsecuring means comprises one of an adjustable retention strap adapted towrap around a forward portion of said upper, an elastic retention bandextending around a forward portion of said upper, or an adjustable seamon said upper.
 16. A method for forming a disposable shoe cover forathletic use, comprising: selecting a unitary flexible material sheet;folding said flexible material sheet into a shoe shape; said shoe shapedefining a sole, an upper and a closed-loop shoe-receiving opening insaid upper adapted to receive a wearer's shoe; and providing surfacegripping members on said sole.
 17. A method in accordance with claim 16wherein said flexible material sheet is turned inside out following saidfolding.
 18. A method in accordance with claim 16 wherein said shoereceiving opening is formed by securing an elastic element around saidopening.
 19. A method in accordance with claim 16 further includingforming a front seam extending along a mid-portion of said upper fromsaid shoe-receiving opening toward a forward end of said sole, and arear seam extending along a mid-portion of said upper from a rearwardportion of said shoe-receiving opening toward a rearward end of saidsole.
 20. A disposable shoe cover for athletic use, comprising: aunitary flexible material sheet folded into a shoe shape; said shoeshape defining a sole, an upper and a closed-loop shoe-receiving openingin said upper adapted to receive a wearer's shoe; and surface grippingmembers on said sole; said flexible material sheet being secured by afront seam extending along a mid-portion of said upper from saidshoe-receiving opening toward a forward end of said sole, and by a rearseam extending along a mid-portion of said upper from a rearward portionof said shoe-receiving opening toward a rearward end of said sole; saidflexible material sheet being selected from the group consisting ofwater resistant fabric material and plastic sheet material; saidshoe-receiving opening comprises an elastic band; said front seam andsaid rear seam each extending inwardly into an interior of saiddisposable shoe cover; said gripping members comprising spikes and beingpermanently or detachably mounted to said sole; said gripping membersbeing only on a forward portion of said sole and said shoe furthercomprising a heel member on a rearward portion of said sole, or saidgripping members being on forward and rearward portions of said sole; aninsole having a textured upper surface for gripping a bottom of awearer's shoe; and an adjustable seam on said upper, or one or moreadjustable retention straps or retention bands adapted to wrap around aforward portion of said upper, to assist in securing said disposableshoe covering to a wearer's shoe.